Ex-Paramus Catholic employees accused of having sex with students in Europe can be tried in Bergen County

Two former Paramus Catholic High School employees accused of having sex with teenage students can be charged in Bergen County even though the alleged acts took place in Germany during a school trip, the state Appellate Division ruled Thursday.

The decision in the case of Artur Sopel, of River Edge, and Michael Sumulikoski, of Elmwood Park, is the first of its kind by an appeals court in New Jersey to determine the reaches of prosecutorial jurisdiction. Because it was released as an unpublished opinion, however, the ruling lacks authority to be cited as a precedent.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said Thursday that the ruling is important for all parents in the county whose children frequently go on school trips outside the county.

“This should make it clear that responsibilities under the criminal law do not end at the borders of Bergen County, or the United States,” he said.

Attorneys for Sopel and Sumulikoski said they will challenge the decision on appeal.

Sopel and Sumulikoski were charged with having sex with at least three students during a February 2011 trip to Werl, Germany, that was sponsored by the school and chaperoned by the two men.

Sopel, who was vice president of operations at the school, was 28 at the time. Sumulikoski was a substitute teacher and was 31 at the time. The alleged victims were all 17 years old.

Defense attorneys denied that the two men did anything inappropriate during the trip. They also sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that even if a crime had been committed in Germany, Bergen County prosecutors lacked the jurisdiction to bring charges.

They argued that there is no evidence that the commission of the crime somehow began in New Jersey, either in the form of planning or conspiracy.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said the most important element of the offense is the relationship between the defendants and the alleged victims. Sopel and Sumulikoski assumed supervisory authority over the students while they were still in New Jersey, they said, and that relationship continued through the trip until everyone returned to Bergen County.

Superior Court Judge James Guida agreed with prosecutors and refused to dismiss the case. Defense attorneys appealed, and the three-judge Appellate Division affirmed Guida’s decision on Thursday in a 10-page opinion.

“This case bears a factual nexus between the crimes and New Jersey, namely, that parents entrusted their children to defendants in this state, and that legal obligation ended upon their return to New Jersey,” the panel wrote.

Philip DeVencentes, the attorney for Sumulikoski, said he was disappointed with the ruling because it ignored the defense argument that no criminal conduct was alleged to have occurred in New Jersey.

“It does not really address the actual issue in this case,” DeVencentes said.

Molinelli, however, said the appeals court ruling found that if one element of the crime took place in Bergen County, the case can be tried in Bergen County.

Of the several elements of the crime, the most critical was that Sopel and Sumulikoski were entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the students, he said.

That authority was given to them in Bergen County, when the parents of the students signed forms to that effect, he said.

“After that, the parents fully and rightfully expected that their children would be taken care of,” he said.

Sopel and Sumulikoski are charged in a 25-count indictment with multiple counts of sexual assault and child endangerment. Most of the charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison, followed by lifelong parole and Megan’s Law registration requirements.